The present application relates to the storage or sequestration of carbon dioxide. In particular, the present application relates to systems and methods for maintaining the integrity of stored carbon dioxide and monitoring such storage systems.
Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of the combustion of fossil fuels. Due to concerns relating to the increasing of carbon dioxide concentration levels in the atmosphere, people have proposed storing carbon dioxide in locations where the carbon dioxide is not freely emitted into the atmosphere. For example, the carbon dioxide maybe separated from the effluent of a coal plant and stored for a long period of time rather than being permitted to enter the atmosphere and increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. One such way of sequestering carbon dioxide is in the ocean, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,553 titled “Method and Apparatus for Sequestering Carbon Dioxide in the Deep Ocean or Aquifers.”